Monday, September 10, 2018

Hurricanes Hurricanes

The PACIFIC OCEAN

The ATLANTIC OCEAN

This is the eleventh time on record that three hurricanes have been active at the same time in the Atlantic. The most recent time was last year, when Irma, Jose and Maria all reached hurricane status at the same time. The scars of Irma and Maria are still clear in the Caribbean and Florida.
The forecasts for Florence and Isaac are disconcerting as well, making it hard to really savor the views from space.
While Helene is likely to steer off into the central Atlantic and poses no immediate risk to land, Florence is rapidly strengthening and is likely to reach the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic by Thursday as a very strong hurricane with a major storm surge risk. It’s quite possible it could stall out over land and dump copious rainfall inland, creating the potential for historic floodingMeanwhile, Isaac is plowing toward the Caribbean and the Lesser Antilles. While it’s a small hurricane, it could still bring rain and storm surge to a number of islands from Barbados to Antigua. Puerto Rico is also within the storm’s forecast cone, though there’s a lot that can happen between now and this weekend to change its exact track. Still, it’s a storm that bears watching.